Throughout these four years sense the painting and illustration of Vanstock's 2020 poster and marketing, We have learned and unlearned what is appropriate regarding depicting Alaska Native artwork and culture. We have spoken and collaborated with tribal elders to become educated, never make these mistakes again and learn how to properly advocate for indigenous peoples.

We have learned that we made a big mistake taking inspiration from the Tlingit and Haida by replicating the art style of these tribes.

The 2020 poster depicted the story of a raven stealing the sun in Tlingit style. To not plagiarize our artist created this artwork using inspiration but not directly copying an image. 

This is true cultural appropriation. What damage resulted, was not only the sun not being a historically correct raven, or sun imagery. Appearing with incorrect proportions and not sharing the story with correct tribal imagery, as well as the sun in these traditions is usually depicted as a face or mask not a raven.

The imagery was not just spreading misinformation about the culture but was improperly displayed. As these artworks are sacred to the Tlingit and Haida not simply an art style. The indigenous people of Alaska have not always been able to freely display their own artwork and culture and have fought for land rights and their own culture for hundreds of years. 

We sincerely apologize for our ignorance and harm caused by our past artworks. 

We thank the tribal elders who took the time to not only educate but discuss these difficult lessons with kindness. It is not a requirement, and we are incredibly grateful to have received this education and stories. We respect and honor the bravery of the tribes to continuously share their traditions with us and educate us on the best way to be an ally. 

Moving forward. In this years 2025 poster we have an ohmage to the 2020 poster keeping many elements, but wanted to revamp, elevate, and showcase Alaska's magic in a respectful way. We chose to include two ravens. One of which is the white raven that has been seen living in Anchorage on Spenard Road. We believe that this raven is incredibly special with the only raven ever recorded to have the condition of being leucistic, which causes the blue eyes and loss of pigmentation. 

Many people have been captivated by this bird, including Meda DeWitt, a Lingít healer who first herd about the legend of the white raven by Rita Blumenstein, known as Grandma Rita — a Yup’ik Woman from Southwest Alaska. She was a medicine woman educated from childhood, Rita recounted an oral prophecy that was passed down from her Elders. “This is one of the stories that she would tell that brought hope,” Meda said. “She would say, ‘We will see a white raven, and that’s when we’ll know that humanity as a whole is shifting towards one of peace.’”

The white raven has a long history all over the world of being a messenger bird. 

This is our way on honoring and including oral tradition into Vanstock's community mission. By the white and black raven joined together, holding the peace ribbon, we can share the ancient wisdom of the Alaska Native people and hopeful message of peace.